This Guide
Reportance is a software application for accountants that connects directly to client accounting files, combines them into a common ledger, and handles the end to end process of workpapers and report preparation.
This quick start guide shows you how to setup and work with your first client in Reportance.
For our detailed glossary of terms, see Definitions.
Log In
Once you open Reportance, refer to the top right of the window to refer to your login status.
If you are not logged in, click Login and enter your username and password.
You can manage user logins and passwords using Smart Workpapers Online
Once logged in, Reportance will remember your details for next time.
Create or Open a File
To create a new Reportance file, once you have opened Reportance, go to File and select New, where Reportance will prompt you for a location and name for the new file.
To open an existing Reportance file, go to File and select Open, where Reportance will prompt you to provide the location of the existing file that you wish to open.
We recommend creating one Reportance file for each client group that will share a common chart of accounts.
Setup on the Client Info Screen
Refer to the Client Info article for more details on this screen. To get started:
1) Setup an Entity
Before you can import data, you must create an Entity. An entity refers to a legal entity for which you prepare financial information, for example an individual, trust or company. From the Client Info screen, select Add New Entity to create a new entity.
In the case of a consolidated group, an entity can also be a nominal group of entities.
2) Add a Dataset
A Dataset is a collection of financial information for a period of time, for a given entity. Click Add Dataset to create a new dataset
From here:
1) Give the dataset a name, for example "2015 Actual"
2) Set the date ranges to reflect the period of data you wish to select
3) Select either MYOB AccountRight Live or Xero from the available source list and then click Add Source to configure.
Once you have added the source, it should be highlighted in the list of sources like so:
Next, click Load Data and follow the prompts in order to import the data for this date range. This will take a snapshot of the trial balance at that point in time and store it in the Reportance file. You can return to this screen and click Load Data whenever you wish to refresh the data in Reportance with the latest changes from the source.
For details on how to import from Excel, please refer to the following article: Importing from Excel
3) Journals
First, you go to the Dataset screen for the relevant dataset, and click on the Journals tab. To create a new journal, click Add Journal. You can edit or delete journal by clicking on the respective buttons against each journal in the Journals list.
For additional information on journals click here.
Manage the Chart of Accounts
Go to the Accounts screen.
The aim in this screen is to get allocate accounts from your clients accounting system, which are listed in the Unallocated Accounts table, into the master chart of accounts in the Allocated Accounts table.
First, click Auto Allocate Accounts to have Reportance automatically categorise the accounts that it can. This is done based on the rules which can be reviewed and edited by clicking on Edit Rules.
Next, drag and drop the remaining accounts into position until there are none remaining, refer to the Accounts article for details.
Create a Workpaper
See the following video for an overview of Workpapers:
Go to the Workpapers screen. Select an entity from the drop-down box, if the one you want is not automatically selected, and then select Create Workpaper. This will launch Excel and open your workpaper. Refer to the Workpapers article for information on what you can do in the Workpaper.
Create a Report
See the following video for an overview of Reporting:
Go to the Reporting screen. First click Create a Copy to create a new template based on the 'default'. Give the template a name, such as '2015 Stat Report', and select the Entity you wish to report for from the drop down.
Next, select a Dataset in the drop-down box in the first column of data. Feel free to click Add Column to add additional columns to appear in the financial report.
Next, go to the Reports tab and select or deselect the report pages you wish to include in this report. You can also select or deselect accounting policies that you wish to appear in the "Notes" page of the report.
Finally, go to the Layout tab. Here you can use the expandable arrows to hide or show levels of detail in the accounts as they would appear in the report. Clicking on the Include Details in Note checkbox will hide the detail of the account on the face of the finanial statements, but show the detail in a Note to the financial statements.
Once you are happy, click Save Template to save the changes you have made, and then click Create Report.
Excel will launch Excel and open the report. If you go to the Reportance tab in Excel you can select Print Report to see a print preview of the report.